Ambassador Houda Nonoo retires after 14 years of service
Ambassador Houda Nonoo has retired after serving the Bahrain Foreign Affairs Ministry for 14 years and as the Arab world’s first and only Jewish ambassador. The Ambassador made the announcement on her official Twitter account.
She thanked His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, former Foreign Affairs Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and current Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Abdullah Abdullatif Al Zayani for their trust and guidance. “Since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in conversations shaping our country and region.
During my tenure, we saw some of our toughest times and some of our greatest, including the establishment of relations with Israel,” Ambassador Houda said. “To have a seat at the table in helping to create a region and a future for our children and grandchildren is something I will never take for granted.
It’s been an honour and the privilege of a lifetime to serve this country which has given me so much.” Ambassador Houda was a founding member of the Bahrain Human Rights Society in 2004 where she focused on women’s rights and children’s rights and domestic workers.
She became the first Jewish female Ambassador from Bahrain, and the first Jewish woman from any of the Arab or Muslim states to be an Ambassador to Washington. Ambassador Houda always says that despite this historic first, as a woman and a Jewish Ambassador to Washington, “I’m Bahraini first.”
